The present invention relates to finishing or restoring the surface of a plastic article and more particularly to a method and apparatus for lowering the viscosity of the articles's surface, by exposing the surface to a solvent, thereby reforming the surface to a smooth finish.
In the past there has always been the problem of obtaining a smooth, high gloss finish to plastic products. Furthermore, since the advent of recycling, there is a demand for recycling or restoring plastic articles.
There have been several attempts to provide an apparatus for refinishing and reforming plastic articles. These attempts utilize various apparatus and solvents to refinish the plastic surface. One such attempt was to place an object made of plastic material into a zone of solvent vapors. The object was maintained in the zone for a sufficient amount of time for the solvent to be absorbed into the plastic's surface. The exposure of the surface to the vapor and the reaction thereto was controlled by changing the temperature of the object in relation to the zone. These past attempts did not adequately control the solvent vapor and further allowed the harmful solvent vapor to escape into the atmosphere.
Thus, there is a need to provide an apparatus and method of refinishing or finishing the surface of the plastic articles in which the solvent vapor is controlled, and which provides a high quality finish and does not release harmful gases into the atmosphere.